DC-3 Air Tours Of Berlin Drawing Sell-Out Crowds

Berlin's beloved Tempelhof Airport is slated to close at the end of this month, and many Germans are taking one last opportunity to take a nostalgic look at the airport -- and the city -- from above.

For a fare of 179 euros (about $242 US), Agence France-Presse reports, "private operator Air Service Berlin puts on a period show for its guests.

"Passengers are greeted with a glass of sparkling wine by staff in crisp 1940s uniforms in the original officers' lounge where the Airlift pilots took short breaks between delivery flights. Swing music plays as guests are ushered into a small cinema for a moving short film about the Airlift featuring interviews with its pilots."

Escorted to the ramp, passengers are then given a half-hour aerial tour of Berlin's landmarks aboard a vintage Douglas DC-3. Built in 1944, the plane is named the Jack O. Bennett, who was the Air Force Captain credited with making the first flight of the Berlin Airlift.

"I want to have it again, that old feeling of flying with everything bouncing and rattling," said retired school principal Peter Kirchoff, 66, wearing a bomber jacket. "And I want a bird's eye view of the city -- instead of Google Earth, it's Berlin Live!"

Former teacher Ilona Stach said she often came to Tempelhof in the 1960s, watching well-heeled travellers jetting off to exotic destinations. "It was like getting a whiff of the big wide world out there," said Stach, 59. "Tempelhof always had real flair."

Scheduled to be closed down forever on October 31, the 80 year-old Tempelhof has become a focus of interest in the city. As ANN reported, a public referendum held last April failed to save the airfield.

The Federal Administrative Court ruled Tempelhof to be closed in order to make way for the new international airport, Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI), due to open in 2011 on the outskirts of the city.

Originally opened in 1926, Tempelhof is home to the largest building in Western Europe, the huge terminal building. A symbol of the city's history and strength, the crescent-shaped building is a national monument, and the only part of the airport that will remain. Proposals for the future use of the airport have suggested a biotech park, film studios, a "green" residential development, and a giant solar energy center, the AFP said.

FMI: www.berlin-airport.de/EN/index.html